Author: Courtney Cummings (sage26)

Spoilers: Both eppies with Arnaud, that's about it but.... This one is kind of a continuation of the first one I did "A New Flame" Copyright November 27, 2000. All rights reserved.

The great evolutionist Charles Darwin once wrote that: "A man's friendships are one of the best measures of his worth."

Now, when you look at my friends, you might think, well, not very highly of me. Take Hobbes, for example. Middle aged, short, slightly balding, and crazy, No, I don't mean occasionally psycho, like me. I mean all the time psycho. The man takes pills. Let me tell you, they don't help. And there's Claire, my keeper. She would rather spend her time buried in a textbook on molecular biochemistry than in human conversation.

You see the picture I'm painting?

Then there was Sage Ashton. Case file I was working on a while back. She had a fiery personality and the power to go with it. Sage could fry an egg from 500 feet away, just by thinking about it. Not that I'm complaining. She had a great body, too. Anyway, long story short, I saved her from her psycho ex. More or less. Which brings us to today. It'd been a while since I checked up on her, so I decided to drop by her place.

I knocked on her door; the doorknob rattled as she slowly opened it.

"Darien! Hey!" She flung the door open and wrapped me in a large hug which I returned with equal affection. She invited me in and proceeded to bombard me with questions regarding my life and job since we last departed.

"Well, my job's my job. Y'know, catch a serial killer, stop a bio-terrorist. The usual." She chuckled at this. "Anyway, enough about me. How's the free life been?"

"Truth be told, it's been kinda dull lately. I guess I'm just not used to living a normal life, you know? Not dodging cops everywhere. It's just, I don't know. I was hoping for a little excitement every now and then."

I knew how she felt. Back when I first started at the Agency, I would've given anything to be back on the streets. And I still will. You get accustomed to a certain way of living, and you miss it when it's gone. I still longed for the free life, the thief's life. I was about to offer my condolences, when my cell phone rang.

"They sure keep you on a short leash," she observed.

"You don't know the half of it." I answered the phone, "Yeah, Fawkes here."

"Fawkes, buddy, um, you need to get down here. There's- there's something you need to see." Hobbes' voice sounded grim. Unusually so. I turned to Sage.

"Um, I, uh, I gotta go. They need me back at the Agency. But hey, listen, we gotta do this another time."

She blocked my exit. "Not a chance. There's something wrong, I can see it."

"Don't tell me you're psychic, too."

"I picked up my jacket off the chair and pushed past Sage. She grabbed my arm tightly.

"Please. Please let me go with you," she implored.

"What?!" I exclaimed, taken aback. "Why would you want to come with me? I'm not gonna let that penny-pinching boss of mine use you, no!"

"Darien, I told you. My life isn't exactly one big adventure now. And you can't really stop me," she replied smugly, then gave me "the look." She wanted my consent.

I sighed reluctantly. "Fine, if you really want to come, then whatever. But you're gonna regret it. Trust me."

She ran into the back room and grabbed her coat, then followed me out the door. I jumped into the driver's seat and sped towards the Agency.

* * * * * * * *

"Hey, Hobbes, you wanna tell me what the problem is? I mean, you called me 'buddy,' I figure it's bad."

"Fawkes, I-." He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Sage, then made a noise almost like a growl. "C'mon." He pushed Sage and me towards the Official's office.

Now, let me tell you about the Official, Charles Borden. This man has been the head of almost as many offices as Hobbes has been kicked out of. That tends to rough you up around the edges. He has this little talent for bending people to his will, but I can pretty much hold my own.

When I walked into his office, the room was dead. Unusually quiet despite Hobbes' presence.

"Is there any chance you could tell me what the problem is before I blow a gasket here?"

Charlie turned towards me, his face solemn. "It's the Keeper," he stated.

"What about her?" I asked, trying to stay calm. All this beating around the bush was really starting to tick me off.

"She's gone," he said, after a long silence. "Kidnaped."

My face fell. This was bad. This was really bad. I looked over at Hobbes, hoping for him to tell me it was all a lie. That the one person responsible for keeping me out of the loony-bin wasn't really gone. He turned his head away.

"Who?" I finally asked. "Who- how did this happen? Don't you people lock your doors!?"

"Mr. Fawkes, if you'll just-," Eberts began.

"What? Calm down? I'll calm down as soon as you find her so she can give me my-." I stopped. The counteragent. "Wait a minute, can't you just get someone else to make the counteragent 'til we find Claire? I mean, you've got all the formula information and everything, right?" I looked at the Official, awaiting a response.

"The Keeper wasn't the only thing taken last night, Darien. They, uh, they took the counteragent notes, too. The whole file."

My mouth was dry. This couldn't be happening! I felt a hand on my shoulder comforting me. It was Sage. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, but she knew it was bad.

"Well," I sighed to her, "I told you you probably shouldn't have come." Then I turned back to the Official. "Uh, sir, this is Sage Ashton."

Sage walked forward, and Charlie nodded. "I know who she is, and I'd like to know why she's here. But right now we need to find the Keeper."

"Any idea who took her?" I asked, forcing myself to approach this calmly.

"This was left." He handed me a tattered piece of paper. I read it aloud: "So good to not see you again, Mr. Fawkes. How's your brother doing these days? Signed, Arnaud."

"Who's Arnaud?" Sage asked. Hobbes and the Official glared at her. "What?" she asked defensively. "If I'm gonna help Darien catch this guys, I need to know who he is."

"Whoa, whoa, back it up there Sarah-Burn-It-All. Who said anything about you helpin' us?"

"Uh, Hobbes, I might have said something," I said aside to him, then turned to Sage, "But he's right, Sage, it could get dangerous. I never would have said yes if I had known it was Arnaud."

"And I'm not dangerous?" She held up her hand like a gun and made a firing motion.

"Fawkes," the Official called. "Come here." I walked over to his desk, trying to retain an air of arrogance that seemed to dissipate around him. "If you take that woman with you, she is your responsibility. This agency isn't here to cater to your tearful reunions. Remember that." I nodded and sauntered back over to Sage, my face burning.

"Darien, did I get you in trouble? Cause if I did then I should-."

"Nah, it's just the fat man. He'll get over it."

Hobbes walked over and joined us as we walked out the door. "So, uh, is your little friend going to be joining us on this mission, Fawkes?"

"Hobbes, would you stop acting like she's not even here? It's Sage, you know," I said sternly. "Arnaud, huh? So, any idea where we start? Or is it just gonna be a 'learn as you go' experience?"

"First, we gotta find out where he's hangin' his hat nowadays."

"And we would do that how?" Hobbes handed me a picture of a man. "He looks familiar. Who is he?"

"Huisclos de Thiel. Brother of Arnaud de Thiel. You may not remember him, you were wonky at the time, but he saved your sanity down in Mexico."

"So he's a good guy?" Sage interjected.

"Well, that's what we hope. Now, you two are gonna go talk to him, try to get him to spill something." He handed me an address. "This is where he's staying. On parole from Corcoran Maximum Security Prison."

I took the slip of paper from him and stuffed it in my pocket. "C'mon, let's check it out." We jumped in my car and left.

* * * * * * * *

"So, who is Arnaud de Thiel?" Sage asked after a few minutes of silence.

I sighed. "Arnaud was one of the scientists who invented the quicksilver gland. The one that lets me go invisible. One of the top people on my brother's team. Turns out he wasn't so good. He wanted to build an army of invisible agents and auction them off to the highest bidder. I found out about it and managed to escape. But, uh, my brother didn't."

"Darien, I- I'm sorry. I didn't know," she consoled. I held up my hand.

"When Arnaud made the gland, he put in an added bonus to make sure whoever it was implanted in would do what ever he said. Over time, depending on my use of the quicksilver, the stuff builds up in my bloodstream and breaks down my inhibitions. Eventually, I go insane."

"Well, you're fine now, aren't you?"

"Not really. To keep his invisible man in check, Arnaud designed a serum called counteragent. If I get injected with it when I need it, I'm fine. That's where the Keeper came in. When I started working for the Agency, she gave me my shots."

"Oh, I get it. And now she's gone along with the notes on how to make the stuff," she stated understandingly. "So, um, how long until you need a shot?"

I held out my wrist and showed her the monitor. "If I don't use any quicksilver, I can expect about a week of sanity. The more I go invisible, the less time I have."

"That's terrible," she commented. But I didn't want her pity. If anyone's not hers.

After a few moments, I spoke: "So, you really wanna work with me on this case?" I asked.

She whipped her head around, her brown hair floating in the air, and looked at me strangely. "Yes. I do."

That was it. For the next few hours, we conversed about her new life, my life. Not much passed between us. When we neared the Corcoran city limit, I pulled out the slip of paper and Sage began searching the street signs we passed by. She quickly pointed out the house and we pulled into the concrete driveway in front of a house that looked like it was ready for the wrecking ball. I turned and looked at Sage.

"Well, point of no return. Ready?" I asked. She nodded, almost excitedly. I couldn't believe she was actually looking forward to this. I wondered how that was possible. Man, oh man, if the Official ever got to her...

We stepped out of the car and walked up to the front door. I knocked, and waited as footsteps slowly made their way to the door. It creaked open, and the face I had seen in the picture peeked out at me.

"Yes, what do you want?" a gruff voice asked in an accent as he looked me up and down

"Huisclos de Thiel?" I asked tentatively.

"Who wants to know?" he countered, a bit more interested now.

"Darien Fawkes," I said, then in a quieter tone, "Um, I'm the guy your brother put the invisibility gland in." This was turning out to be kinda awkward. What were we supposed to do if he didn't even remember me?

He opened the door wider, a look of recognition slowly crawled across his scruffy face. "Fawkes?" he repeated. I held out my badge and showed him. "Well, what do you want?" he asked, quickly bringing the mask back up.

"We're here about Arnaud," Sage interjected before I could say a word. Already she was getting the hang of this.

"I'm sorry," he said sternly, " I don't know anything." He began to shut the door.

"Wait!" I pleaded. "Please, he's taken all the notes on how to make the counteragent. You know as well as he or I what'll happen if I don't get it."

He stopped and looked at me. "He's, he's my brother. Even if I knew, I-."

"Please, you have to tell us. You saved my sanity once, I know you'll do it again," I implored. He was the only one who could help us find him. In past times, Arnaud had somehow let us know where he was. This time, nothing. I looked at Huisclos; he sighed and pushed open the door, motioning for us to enter. Sage and I walked inside, stepping over cartons of shrimp fried rice. She looked at me, I just shrugged.

"Arnaud could be any number of places. He hasn't kept me under his wing for some time, you know."

"I know," I admitted, "But anything you have would-."

"Mr. Fawkes, if you don't shut up, I won't give you any of the information I have."

Sage stifled a laugh, and I shot her a dirty look. She mouthed, "What?"

Huisclos walked into another room and quickly returned with a slip of paper, scratching his beard.

"Arnaud never tells me where he's staying. For good reason, too. But he gave me this number where I could reach him." He handed the paper to me. We thanked him and turned to leave.

"Mr. Fawkes!" he called as we walked towards the door.

"Yeah?"

"I, um, I hope you can find the notes before it's too late."

"Thanks," I said, then to myself, "Me, too."

Sage and I vacated Huisclos' house and started back towards the Agency. After I dropped her off at her house and wished her good night, I returned with the number to the Official's office.

* * * * * * * *

I flung open the door and whipped out the number and put it on his desk. "Bam, we got a number."

"Good job, Fawkes," he said. "We'll get right on it. Eberts, the phone." The Official's right hand man reached into the desk and pulled out a telephone. "This phone has been equipped with the best technology for tracing this Agency can buy."

"So, in other words, unless he says 'I'm right here,' we have absolutely no chance of finding him?"

"Just shut up and dial, Fawkes."

I took a moment to glance at Hobbes, whom I had only just noticed. His face was expressionless and distant. I wondered if he was jealous of the fact that I was hanging around with Sage on this case. I mean, Hobbes and I are pretty close. We've been through a lot, and that's not something you throw away at the sight of a pretty face. I hoped he knew that. Quoting him, "Darien Fawkes doesn't bail on his partner." I slowly picked up the receiver and listened for a dial tone. My hands shaking, I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and punched in the number. Then I waited.

"Fawkes, I was wondering when you'd find the number. I trust my brother was hospitable?"

My heart stopped. Arnaud had known. "How did you know? How could you know?"

He began to laugh. "Ah, Mr. Fawkes. You still haven't learned yet, have you? I knew the most probable place you would turn to locate me would be my sniveling brother's. You read like one of your trashy American romance novels."

"Well, if you knew I was going to call, you must have something to say. So what is it?"

"I see that gland hasn't affected your thoughts. Yet. But yes, you are correct in that sense. I really couldn't care less about your keeper," he spat. "But I do care deeply about those notes on the gland you stole from me. We shall trade. The woman and the counteragent notes for the construction notes you took."

"You're lying, Arnaud," I growled. No matter how I responded to this, he would kill both the Keeper and me. He wasn't going to lets us get away.

"Possibly, but I wouldn't think a man in your position would be making accusations like that. Tick, tock, Fawkes."

I shot a quick glance at the Official. He shook his head. "No," I said sternly. "There's no way we're turning the notes over to you. Claire would rather die than see you get the gland."

"And you're willing to stake her life on it? Very noble, yes, very noble of you. But, I'm afraid you have no choice. The woman will die, and you will lose something too. Can you feel it building up inside you this very moment? Can you feel it begin to push? Of course you can. I know it to be so. You'll sacrifice someone else, if only to save your sorry carcass. And you won't surrender yourself, I know. Because I'm willing to bet you're attempting, pathetically I might add, to trace this call. Don't waste your time. If you ever want to regain your sanity, I would suggest you accept whatever I offer you."

That smug little-. I didn't say a word. He had me, and if I spoke, I'd lose it, I knew. "Good, I'll accept your silence as your consent. Now listen carefully, friend, because I'm only going to say this once. To you and you alone. The trade will be made from one of my residences, located in Lake Tahoe on the border of Nevada. My men will pick you up from an inn on the outskirts of the town. I'll bring the woman, you bring the notes. And only the notes. If I see anyone with you, she dies. You have twenty four hours to decide, then your keeper dies anyway."

"Fine," I sighed. Then, a voice came over the line.

"Darien? Darien, don't do it! Don't-." Then the line went dead. He had let Claire have a moment of free will, just to tease me. I turned and looked at the Official.

"Don't tell me. You didn't trace the call?"

"We couldn't. Should've known he'd use a cell phone. This tracer isn't equipped to do that kind of pinpointing. Nothing we could do."

"What did he say?" Hobbes asked, interested.

I recounted everything Arnaud had told me. "I can't give him the notes, but we gotta get Claire and the counteragent notes back."

The Official nodded. "What kind of time window do we have?"

"Twenty four hours. We meet him in Lake Tahoe for the switch."

I glanced down at my wrist. Half full. I knew if I went quicksilver mad, I couldn't help anyone. Had to control it. I walked out the door and into the empty hallway. Hobbes stopped me.

"What're you gonna do, Fawkes?" he whispered. "You got diddly to go on, 'cept what this madman told you." He stared at me intently. "Wait a minute. You're not- you're not gonna actually do this? I mean, I want the Keeper back as much as you do, but we got to think about what else is at stake."

I whipped my head around. "What are you talking about Hobbes?" I hissed. "You know I'd never do something like that. I don't know how just yet, but trust me, I'll get Claire back, without the notes." He nodded. "Is there something wrong? You're not jealous of Sage, are you?"

"Who, me? Of a chick?"

"You didn't answer my question." He looked away. "You are! You're jealous of the fact that I'm spending this mission with Sage! I can't believe it!"

He tried to shake it off. "What? Nah, why would I be jealous?"

"Hobbes, I can tell when you're jealous, and believe me, you are 100% driven mad by me doing this mission with her. Admit it."

"So what if I am?"

Hobbes can be really annoying at times. This was one of them. I didn't know how to react to this, really. The last time I worked with an old friend, Hobbes arrested me. I didn't want to revisit that fond memory. He thinks it's up to him to save the day anytime I start to work with someone besides him. Whether it's myself, alone, or an old friend, or a new one, like Sage. He always has to play the hero. He's convinced I can't handle the missions myself. I would prove to him that I didn't need him. Then maybe this stupid agency will let me play it alone for a while, without some paranoid veteran watching my every move.

I glared at Hobbes and left him standing there as I walked away. Down the long hallway, and right into the Keeper's lab. I didn't realize what I'd done until it was too late. It was almost as if the gland had taken control of my body. I wasn't even conscious of the fact that I had walked there. Could it really do that? I shook my head, forcing the thought from my mind. I didn't even want to think about that. I quickly turned and walked out of the lab.

I left the building and jumped into my car. After a quick glance at my watch, I began to debate with myself whether or not I should wake up Sage to go to Arnaud's. It would be dangerous, but I'd told her she could go, and I really didn't want to do this alone. Arnaud could release my darker inhibitions faster than the gland could any day. That was enough to convince me.

* * * * * * * *

I whipped into Sage's driveway, then ran up to her doorway and began knocking. I saw a light flicker on in an upstairs room and heard soft footsteps approach the door.

"I'm coming, just a second," a voice called from inside. Then the door opened, revealing Sage in a long gown holding a candle. "Darien?" she yawned. "I didn't expect you back so soon. Couldn't you have at least waited till morning?"

"Sorry, but no. We don't have a lot of time. You up for a little trip?"

"Where? The number actually worked?" she asked, now more excited.

"Lake Tahoe. I'm supposed to meet him there for a switch. Still wanna come?"

"Sure, no problem! Um, come in. I gotta get dressed. Make yourself comfortable. You know your way around." She stepped aside so I could enter, then stopped me and held the candle up to my face. "Darien, I think you need sleep more than I do. Your eyes are really bloodshot."

I quickly pushed past her and ran to the bathroom to see for myself. She was right. "Um, Sage, you better hurry up. We are seriously running out of time," I stated ominously. Within five minutes we were on our way to meet Arnaud.

* * * * * * * *

Twelve hours and a few cups of coffee later, Sage and I were resting at the motel Arnaud had told me of. Sage was standing at the window, sipping a cup and gazing out onto the crystal water.

"Strange, isn't it?" I interjected into the silence, drying my hair from the shower I had taken in an effort to stay awake.

"What do you mean?" she asked. I joined her by the window.

"'That which is striking and beautiful is not always good.'"

"Really? Who said so?"

"Ninon De L'Enclos. French chick from the 1600's. 'The charmer of two centuries.'" I sighed and turned towards the bedside table. "Guess I should phone him. Remember: not a sound. He has to believe I'm alone, or he'll kill Claire before we can get to her. You know what you're supposed to do, right?"

"Don't worry. I got it under control. This should go without a hitch." I was still apprehensive about placing her in such a dangerous situation, but she obviously didn't mind. She was eager to do it. I picked up the receiver and placed it to my ear, then I dialed the number.

"I almost thought you'd forgotten about me, Fawkes. But then, that would be highly uncharacteristic of Mr. Hero. You have the notes, I assume?"

"Yeah, I got 'em, but first I want to talk to the Keeper. I have to know she's ok."

"The woman is fine. For now. My men will be waiting outside of your motel. They will drive you to the meeting spot." He hung up.

I put down the receiver and glanced over at Sage, who had abandoned her position at the window and now sat at the edge of the bed. I held a finger up to my lips, then opened the door and stepped outside into the parking lot. It was up to her now. Once I entered Arnaud's little web, he'd make certain I didn't leave.

"Mr. Fawkes, you're to come with us," a man in a dark suit called from an equally dark car.

"Oh, you must be the welcome wagon."

"Get in." I complied and entered the vehicle.

As I was driven to Arnaud's stronghold, I silently prayed Sage wasn't discovered. After about an hour, the car slowed to a stop, and I was violently pushed out and held at gunpoint. A small army led me up the front steps of an old-style Victorian home. They stopped me in the central room.

Then he stepped forward. "Once again, we meet, in person. I must tell you what a pleasure it is to see you and your gland, Fawkes. Now, we'll get right down to business. Give me the papers," Arnaud demanded.

"Not until I see Claire." He gave a signal to one of his men who quickly left the room. Then he began to walk around me, looking me up and down like a butcher examining a cut of meat. He reached out a hand and I jerked back. "Relax, Fawkes. You're so jumpy. I want you to feel like a guest in my abode."

"And you hold all your guests at gunpoint?"

"A minor technicality. I can't very well have you using that fabulous gland of yours and going into quicksilver madness. It's much more difficult to harvest it when it reaches that point."

"Wait, harvest it?"

"Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you that on the phone," he said wistfully.

"You can't, I'll die!"

"Yes, isn't it wonderful? And I'm even going to let your dear keeper watch." He gestured to Claire, now being led in by his men.

"Claire!" I moved towards her, but stopped when a gun barrel was shoved in my face, forcing me back.

"You go invisible, and the woman dies. Simple as that. Now, I want those notes, Fawkes. And you are going to tell me where they are."

I risked a quick glance at Claire. Her face was bruised and blood oozed from a gash above her right eye. She mouthed, "No" to me, and I gave a slight nod. I didn't see Sage anywhere, and she was the crux of our plan. If she didn't show, it was all over. Arnaud had won.

"All right, Arnaud," I stated calmly. "The notes are-."

"Right here," Sage called as she flung open the front doors. She held up a file of papers in her hand as proof. "And if you hurt either one of them, the papers are toast. Literally."

I grinned smugly at Arnaud. The balance of power had shifted. I thought. Arnaud gave a slight chuckle, then turned from Sage and moved close to me, his face inches from mine.

"You are threatening me?" he laughed. Then, in a deadly serious tone, he whispered to me, "No one threatens me. Especially not you. Now listen closely, Fawkes. I am growing exceedingly tired of this game we play. I want those notes, but I want you to know I am quite capable of replicating the gland without them, which means I don't need them." He turned to Sage, yelling now, "Did you hear that? I don't care if you destroy those papers! In fact, I'm not taking any chances." He turned to one of the men who had a gun leveled at me and snatched it from his hand. Then he turned to me. "In all the research I did on that gland, Fawkes, do you know what the most pleasing bit of information is about it?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat, eyeing the gun he clutched so tightly.

"The host doesn't have to be alive to remove it," he whispered to me, caressing every word. I felt the gun barrel push into my chest, and closed my eyes...

"Drop the gun, Arnaud, or I swear, I will boil you alive." I slowly opened my eyes and saw Sage with both hands wrapped firmly around Arnaud's neck. "Drop it!" she yelled, more forcefully than I knew she was capable of.

I felt the gun drop away and heard it clatter to the ground. "Good, now tell your men to back off," she stated calmly.

"Stupid woman," he hissed, "My men will shoot you dead before you can strangle me."

"Yes, that's right, they could do that," she said, the leaned close to Arnaud, "If I was intending on strangling you." I saw her grip tighten, Arnaud began screaming.

"Aah! What are you doing?! I'm burning, stop!"

"Then let them go," she growled, "Or the coroner will have to identify you by your dental records." He glared at her, the glanced at his men around the room.

"Release them," he choked out. One by one the guns dropped. I ran over to Claire, and steadied her. Then I walked with her over to Arnaud, who was still at Sage's mercy.

"How does it feel?" I asked him. "To be trapped, alone, no one to help you, with death on all sides?" He scowled at me. "Likewise."

"What should I do with him?" Sage asked, keeping her hands locked on Arnaud's throat.

"You should give him to me," a familiar voice called from the doorway.

"Hobbes, what're you doing here?" I asked, as he walked into the room, followed by twenty armed agents.

"I came to save your ungrateful butt."

"Well, looks like you're too late. As you can see, Sage and I have- aah!"

"Sure, everything's under control," he muttered, then motioned for two agents to get me.

The pain of the oncoming quicksilver madness blasted through my skull like a freight train. I closed my eyes tightly and fell to the floor. And I didn't open them again for a long time.

* * * * * * * *

"Darien? Darien, are you awake?" Claire called. I slowly opened my eyes to see her poised over me.

"Well, I am now." I struggled to push myself up and viewed my surroundings. I was back in the lab at the Agency. "How did I get back?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"We were at Arnaud's in Lake Tahoe, and Hobbes showed up, then nothing."

"Well, it's a good thing he did show up. He brought helicopters and backup. We airlifted you here."

"How long ago was this?"

"Day, day-and-a-half. You were out the entire time, mate."

"And Sage, what about her?"

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